video pass, music pass terms.

[MrSelvis]

Hi,

Two questions really.

1. The Video Pass states "Amazon Prime Video" as included, I have Prime but does that mean anything I stream that is rented from Amazon Videos is not included? It is surely from the same servers.

2. Music pass - it covers Spotify etc. but doesn't meantion Sonos - If I stream my spotify using Sonos speakers will this be included in the pass?

[Annie_N]

EDIT: SEE LATER POSTS FOR UPDATED INFORMATION

@ MrSelvis

The Amazon website is very clear that "Amazon Prime includes Prime Video"; also I have Amazon Prime, and get periodic reminders from Amazon that I could be using Prime Video. My first reaction to your question was that all Amazon videos would be included, but having looked more closely at the Amazon website, I suspect that the answer may be that only those videos which are marked with the Prime flag would be included. But that is only my guess, and others may know better.

Where in your setup are your Sonos speakers? I don't know much about them beyond their advertisements, but surely the streaming to them is entirely within your home? If you stream from Spotify to your phone or other mobile data device, and then on to the speaker setup within your home, surely that is of no concern to Spotify or to Vodafone. On the other hand, if the signal goes from Spotify to Sonos, and then on to your phone, then it might well not be included.

Have you found the support page about the passes? That gives some supplementary information. In particular, look at the sections about usage not covered, and also the warning that the data cap, if you are using it, is automatically removed when a pass is added. So you'll need to keep a close eye on how your inclusive data allowance is holding up. In particular, I'm a bit horrified that the adverts between songs may get taken from your regular data allowance.

[MrSelvis]

I'm guessing maybe you're right and only Prime videos will be included. Spotify via Sonos probably isn't included as the speakers are designed to continue to play even if you walk away from them, they arn't bluetooth speakers and so to be able to do that they stream spotify via their own servers. It's a shame, it means the passes offer much less value.

[Annie_N]

I'd rather hoped that someone else would chip in with either their understanding (if a Community member) or some definite advice (if from Vodafone). While I'm reasonably good at interpreting obscure rules and regulations, this one was definitely venturing into terra incognita for me!

The lack of a data cap makes me reluctant to suggest experimentation, which can otherwise be a useful way of establishing what actually happens in practice. Well, I guess one could listen to music for a short period, then check the following day whether one's data allowance had been used, without doing too much harm. Buying and watching a complete video could be a costly mistake if my interpretation is correct.

I'd suggest waiting a short while, to see if any further information is forthcoming, before making a decision on the matter.

[Colleen]

@MrSelvis Thanks for getting in touch and @Annie_N thanks for all of your advice so far 👍

We want to get some confirmation on this for you, so I've raised it with our Specialists. 

As soon as we have an update, we'll let you know 😊

[Alex · Accepted solution]

@MrSelvis We've just heard back from one of our contacts who looks after our Vodafone Passes. 

1. Good news! Yes, rented videos (TVOD) from Amazon will be covered as they're part of the Prime Video service - happy streaming 😊
2. Are your Sonos Speakers connected to your Wi-Fi and playing Spotify? If this is the case, any usage will come from your Wi-Fi allowance rather than your Mobile Phone or Mobile Broadband. 

I hope this helps! Do let us know if you have any further questions 🙂

[Annie_N]

This all sounds like encouraging news! Looking again at the Amazon website, I think I may have missed the distinction between buying and renting videos. From @Alex's post, and my revised reading of the Amazon information, I think it's just buying a video (presumably for multiple re-streamings) which wouldn't be covered.

[MrSelvis]

That is good news!

Alex, thanks for your reply.

The reason for my questions is that I am using a 4G wireless router, broadband is pretty rubbish where I live - often below 1 mb/s.  

My sonos is connected to wifi but the router connects to the internet via a Vodafone 4G simcard. I have spotify premium and sonos speakers stream from a spotify account via the sonos server.

If the Video pass works for all amazon streaming then that will make a huge difference to my data allowance, I rented a film last week and streamed it in HD, most things I've read suggest that that should use about 3Gb of data, (SD roughly 1Gb) the film stopped and buffered a few times which shouldn't happen so maybe something else was going on  but after the film was over I checked my data allowance and  11.5Gb had been used! the TV was the only thing connected to the router.

[John]

@MrSelvis You're welcome! 
On our website it states:
If you’re using a virtual private network (VPN), a proxy, or your device is configured to an external domain name system (DNS) other than Vodafone’s DNS, then your Passes won’t work and any data usage will come out of your monthly allowance - It's my understanding that your Sonos wireless speak will run using a local DNS server, therefore you would be charged.
We advise all our customers to monitor their usage frequently using the My Vodafone app.
It's great to see you'll be able to make the most out of our Vodafone Video Pass - what will you be watching? We'd love to know 

[Annie_N]

At 11.5 GB of his data allowance used for a single film, if I've understood correctly, I'd guess that @MrSelvis may not be watching that many films!